The goal of this project is to determine if creatine kinase isozyme BB (CK-BB) is a useful serum and effusion marker for various cancer types. Additional goals of this research are to establish a body of data concerning two-dimensional protein patterns of normal body fluids, to identify fluid type-specific proteins and to identify proteins of diagnostic interest. The early diagnosis of cancer is a fundamental goal of cancer research because most malignancies could be cured if diagnosed as local lesions. The sobering facts are, however, that blood tests, including those which measure levels of the BB isozyme of creatine kinase, have not been very successful in the early diagnosis of solid tumors. So far, it has been impossible to reliably detect in blood marker substances contributed by a small number of malignant cells far removed from blood. Therefore, new directions have to be explored if progress is to be made in the laboratory diagnosis of early cancer. Our new working hypothesis is that body fluids other than blood are better places to search for changes in the concentration of proteins which reflect early cancer. The proteins of prostatic fluid, cerebrospinal fluid, pancreatic juice, bile, breast fluid aspirations, etc., reflect local metabolic activity and are a good place to look for protein changes associated with the malignant transformation of cells which produce the fluid and are in close association with it. Two-dimensional electrophoresis is being employed to analyze body fluids because of its high resolving power so that those body fluid proteins which reflect disease can be picked out. To date, the normal two-dimensional protein patterns of prostatic fluid, cerebrospinal fluid and breast fluid aspirations have been determined. The serum proteins present have been identified by reference to the two-dimensional map of human plasma proteins. Each fluid type also exhibits a characteristic array of protein families not present in serum. Early results suggest that women with breast disease can be identified by the two-dimensional pattern of their breast fluid proteins.